


The Beast Of Griever Castle

by Delightfullysarcastic96



Category: Final Fantasy VIII
Genre: F/M, but it's not and im slightly disappointed by that, this was supposed to be ridicuous
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-20
Updated: 2017-08-13
Packaged: 2018-08-23 14:59:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8332153
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Delightfullysarcastic96/pseuds/Delightfullysarcastic96
Summary: After being forced to move to the tiny town of Winhill Rinoa is taken prisoner by the master of a castle controlled by Esthar.Squinoa/Beauty and the Beast AU.





	1. Chapter 1

She didn't want to move but had no say in the matter. Her father, General Caraway, was assigned to govern the Winhill province and because of that, she was forced to leave her childhood home in Deling City.

 

Deling City was the largest city on the continent and always had something to do. Whether it be libraries, museums, restaurants or parks, there was always something anyone would need to keep themselves occupied. Winhill was nothing like that.

 

Winhill was a tiny town that boasted a very successful tavern and Chocobo farm. Not even a public library. They did have an abundance of monsters that roamed into town which was one thing Deling City didn't have; not exactly a positive thing.

 

In addition to the small size, it was also far away and took at least three days driving non-stop to arrive finally. The entire trip Rinoa hadn't said a word to her father, she was still too mad. They had a huge fight when he told her of his new posting the only way he managed to get her to go along was by promising they would only be there temporarily. She intended to hold him to that.

 

"Even though this is a small town, I still want you to be very careful Rinoa," He father ordered.

 

 _"_ _Humph,"_ was her only reply.

 

"I'm serious Rinoa, the monsters are dangerous, and these people are not very happy about being under Galbadian rule. Who knows what they might try," he continued.

 

 _"_ _Humph,"_ she replied again.

 

The driver removed her bags from the trunk of the car and she immediately grabbed them to head into their new home at the Winhill mansion.

 

She had to admit; it was quite a beautiful piece of architecture and considerably larger than her home in Deling. It was much more elegant in its design with the marble floors and walls and all the stained glass, but Rinoa refused to show any admiration of the place. She didn't want her father to think she would like it here and try to stay longer than promised.

 

"Rinoa," Caraway called.

 

She stopped with a sigh and turned to face him.

 

"Be careful," he ordered.

 

" _Ugh_ , fine, whatever," she grumbled.

 

She carried her bags up the winding staircase, guided by one of the mansion staff, to her new bedroom, which was relatively gigantic. It was a similar color scheme to her room back home, her father's doing no doubt, but she wasn't appeased. She did give him some credit for trying, but it wasn't enough.

 

Rinoa didn't even bother unpacking her clothes, she instead flopped backward onto the large plush bed and let out a hefty sigh. The room was beautiful, as was the rest of the mansion or at least what she had seen of it. Her room was fit for a princess, with its pink and white color scheme, oversized stuffed animals, king sized bed cover in pink frilly throw pillows and the frilly pink canopy. Under different circumstances, she would have loved the room, but she didn't. She wanted to go home.

 

Frustrated at the events that led up to this point, she started to cry.

 

* * *

Rinoa had cried herself to sleep, and by the time she woke up, it was after dark. She was disoriented and for a moment forgot where she was. When she remembered, the frustration returned. Given there wasn't anything she could do about it, she thought it best just to unpack and suffer till she was finally able to go home.

 

She looked around for her bags, but they were gone.

 

 _Maybe the staff put my things away,_ she thought.

 

She crossed the room to the large ornate dresser and pulled open one of the drawers to confirm her suspicion.

 

Rinoa's clothes were indeed put away which was a relief; she hated unpacking. She closed the drawer, and her stomach grumbled. It was past dinner time, but the kitchen must have some leftovers, so she went to find them.

 

When she got to the main floor, it hit her that she didn't know where to locate the kitchen. She didn't know where most anything was in this place except her room and she found that with help. Still, she felt confident she would find it in no time.

 

It was surprising how many lights were on, despite the time. When Rinoa walked through the double doors between the staircases the sound of music and people talking could be heard echoing through the halls. She followed the sound past the dining room and drawing room to another set of double doors that opened into a ballroom filled with people.

 

"What the?" Rinoa mumbled.

 

"Rinoa, glad you finally decided to join us!" Her father called cheerfully.

 

"Uh, Daddy, what's going on?" Rinoa asked.

 

She looked around the large room, one side had a wall cover entirely in mirrors, the other side was windows, and columns evenly spaced with gold drapes hanging from them. The ceiling curved upward into a dome with murals of cherubs and angel surrounding a giant crystal chandelier.

 

"The mayor wanted to welcome us to the town," Caraway explained, "since the Ballroom is the largest space in town this is where the party is taking place."

 

 _Obviously,_ she thought.

 

"I thought you said they weren't happy about being under Galbadian rule?" She whispered.

 

"They aren't," he answered darkly, "but apparently, they will use any excuse they can to have a party and drink. Even if they hate us."

 

So she was in a room full of people who hated her. That was just the icing on the cake for this entire move.

 

She made her way through the ballroom getting sideways glances the whole way to the buffet. The food momentarily made her forget that all eyes seemed to be on her and proceeded to load up a plate to fill her empty belly.

 

"Hello there," a husky voice came from beside her.

 

She turned to face the extremely attractive man it came from and let out a nervous snorting chuckle and was immediately embarrassed.

 

"Hi," she replied.

 

He was tall, with slicked back blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. His navy blue button down shirt hugged his well-toned frame in all the right places; his jeans did the same for his lower half.

 

"So you're the general's daughter?" He asked.

 

"I prefer Rinoa," she said shoving a roll in her mouth.

 

"Seifer," he replied gesturing to himself.

 

"Nice to meet you," she said, making her way to one of the tables that dotted the room.

 

"How are you enjoying small town life?" Seifer asked sitting next to her.

 

She gave him a sideways glance as she dug into her food then rolled her eyes.

 

"That good?" He laughed.

 

Rinoa looked around, and everyone was staring at her and whispering about her, at least she assumed they were whispering about her. She couldn't hear them, so there was no way of knowing for sure.

 

"Everyone is looking at me," she mumbled.

 

"Well yeah," Seifer laughed. "Have you looked in a mirror recently?"

 

"No, why?" She asked.

 

"Well, if I'm honest— "he started.

 

She looked over to the mirror wall, and her reflection was something out of a nightmare. Her makeup was in black streaks down her face, and she had a few smudges on her cheeks from where she wiped her tears away. It was no wonder everyone was staring.

 

"—you look a little slobby," he continued.

 

"Oh my," she whispered.

 

Endless embarrassment. Rinoa had been walking through the room looking like this and the only person to say anything was this man she just met. A new wave of anger towards the general bubbled in her gut. Either he was too self-centered to notice how grungy she looked or he didn't care enough to tell her. She didn't care which answer was the correct one both of them made her just as mad.

 

"I have to go," she said quickly.

 

She grabbed her plate and made a quick exit back to her room to cry over her embarrassing entrance.

 

* * *

The next morning Rinoa woke to the sound of birds chirping loudly outside her window. It was familiar and comforting since the house in Deling had extensive gardens birds were frequent visitors, and they often woke her with their chirps.

 

She let out a sigh and rolled out of bed. Stretching her tired limbs, she slowly made her way to her bathroom to clean herself up and dress for breakfast. This time she made sure that her face wasn't covered in smudges.

 

She made her way to the ground floor, the smell of breakfast was intoxicating and made her stomach growl. When she entered the dining room her father was sitting at the head of the table, his face buried in the newspaper; unaware that she was even in the room. She sat down in one of the empty seats and filled her plate with food from the dishes on the table, trying to be as loud as possible to get noticed by the General. It didn't work.

 

She rolled her eyes and just focused on eating her food, again, as loud as possible.

 

"Any plans today, dear?" He asked, not looking away from his paper and when her mouth was full of food.

 

"Uh, not really. I was thinking of just looking around town," Rinoa answered. "What about you?"

 

"I'm doing a land survey with the mayor," Caraway answered calmly.

 

"Land survey?" Rinoa asked. "What's that all about?"

 

"Standard procedure. We'll go through town and do and inspection to make sure all the documents match what exists in town and make amendments as necessary," he explained.

 

"Sounds boring," she replied, "have fun."

 

She got up to leave but stopped when her father called after her.

 

"Stay inside the town proper," he ordered, "rumor has it there is a beast that roams around outside of town."

 

She rolled her eyes at the silly story but agreed to humor him. If she hadn't, then he might not have let her leave the mansion.

 

As she walked the cobblestone of the town square, she noticed something strange. There was no one around. It could be argued that everyone was at work but it was summertime, there should at least be kids out playing. Now it could be that they were all still in bed as it was eight o'clock in the morning, it just seemed strange that she saw more people last night in her house than she saw in the street.

 

The silence was unsettling, the hustle and bustle of Deling was comforting. She could expect some madness to come out of the noise, but here she didn't know what to expect.

 

"You clean up nicely."

 

She jumped at the familiar voice behind her.

 

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," Seifer chuckled.

 

"It's alright," she sighed.

 

She couldn't remember his name, but she did remember him. He was even better looking in the sunlight though his blue eyes were hidden by the dark pair of sunglasses and his white t-shirt and jeans made him look like a model in a fashion magazine.

 

"Seifer, my name is Seifer," he chuckled.

 

"Right, Seifer. Nice to see you again," she smiled.

 

"You too," he said with a flirty tone.

 

"So, where is everyone?" She asked nervously.

 

"Most everyone works out in the fields during the day, people who don't usually stay inside till the patrols are finished, and the all clear goes out," he explained.

 

"Patrols?" Rinoa asked.

 

"Yeah, monsters like to wander into town, so the patrols clear them out," Seifer answered.

 

"Who does these 'patrols'?" She asked.

 

"I do," he answered proudly.

 

Rinoa hadn't noticed it initially, but he was carrying a sword like weapon and had it resting casually on his shoulder.

 

"Just you?" She laughed.

 

"Well, me and my posse," he added.

 

"Posse? Makes you sound like a street gang," Rinoa laughed.

 

"Maybe we are," he flirted. "The good kind, though. I like to think of myself as the Knight of Winhill!"

 

"Sounds regal," Rinoa laughed.

 

She was relieved to be able to spend time with someone her age. Since it was such a small town she expected a lot of senior citizens, which there were, but as she found out the night before there were just as many young adults, teenagers and children as well. It was also a relief that they Seifer at least seemed relatively normal.

 

"So where is your 'posse'?" Rinoa laughed.

 

Before Seifer could answer her, two people came running up to them. One was a large man with dark skin and a staff that looked like it could do some damage. The other was a petite woman with white hair and an eye-patch.

 

"What's the word?" Seifer asked.

 

"All clear, ya know," the bulky one answered.

 

"Good, go ring the bell," Seifer ordered.

 

"INTRODUCTION," the small one barked.

 

Rinoa jumped, she hadn't expected the abruptness of her statement or the volume.

 

"Oh, yeah. This is Rinoa," Seifer said placing a hand on her shoulder. "Rinoa, this is Raijin and Fujin."

 

"Good to meet ya, ya know," the one Seifer identified as Raijin said, offering his hand to shake.

 

Fujin nodded in acknowledgment but said nothing and offered no handshake.

 

"Likewise," Rinoa replied, politely refusing the handshake.

 

"So what brings you to Winhill?" Raijin asked.

 

"My father," Rinoa answered bitterly.

 

Raijin was about to reply when Fujin kicked him hard in the shin.

 

"BELL," she barked.

 

"Alright, alright!" Raijin yelled in pain. "It was nice meeting you Rinoa, ya know."

 

"You too," Rinoa replied, wincing sympathetically. "Is it always like that?"

 

"Like what?" Seifer asked.

 

"Never mind," Rinoa sighed and rolled her eyes. "Is there anything fun to do in this town?"

 

"That depends on what you find fun," Seifer replied.

 

"Okay, what do YOU do for fun?" She asked.

 

"I hunt monsters," he shrugged.

 

"Do you hunt the 'beast of Winhill'?" She laughed.

 

"I would if it were real," he chuckled.

 

"You don't think it's real?"

 

"Why should I? No one has seen it and the people who say they saw it only believe that they saw it and it usually turns out to be nothing," Seifer explained.

 

"I'm curious about it," Rinoa admitted.

 

"Prepare to be disappointed," Seifer sighed.

 

"Story of my life," Rinoa mused.

 

They walked in silence through the town, the bell rang, people emerged from their houses and the town started to buzz.

 

Seifer stayed by her side all through town as she explored, though she would have preferred to explore on her own. When she returned to the mansion, it was almost lunch time, and Seifer was still with her.

 

"So this town is a lot more fun after dark," he smiled. "Would you like to join me in some Winhill fun later?"

 

"Are you asking me out on a date?" She smiled wryly.

 

"If you want it to be a date, I'd be ok with it," he smiled.

 

"Sure, why not? It's not like I have anything else to do," she agreed.

 

If she had to be miserable in this little town, she might as well do it with the tall, blonde beefcake.

 

He smiled again and said: "Alright then, I'll pick you up at six-thirty."

 

She smiled and nodded before heading inside. She looked out the side window to watch him walk away into the distance before going back outside to explore on her own.

 

Rinoa had enjoyed Seifer's company, but she set out this morning to experience the town in her way. The whole time they were walking she felt like she had a bodyguard and that was something she never liked. Not even when it was necessary.

 

She followed the road that went past the mansion, making sure not to go the same direction Seifer had gone so she didn't run into him again.

 

It was paved with cobblestone up to the town gates before turning to dirt and lined with trees with branches that hung overhead forming an archway as far as she could see. It was only wide enough to support one car, not that she worried at all, the only car she'd seen was the one that dropped her off. The citizens of the town usually walked or still used Chocobo drawn carts.

 

After a while, she came to a fork and decided it might be best to turn back, but before she did, she heard a terrified shriek and turned to see a man running frightened toward her.

 

"The beast got him!" He yelled breathlessly.

 

"What are you talking about?" She asked, her voice shaking.

 

"The beast of Griever castle," he panted, "the beast has the General!" He grabbed Rinoa by the shoulder and shook her slightly.

 

"What?!" she cried. "How?!"

 

"I told him not to go in, that it was dangerous, but he insisted on it," the man explained. "he said 'we have to survey every property in the Winhill province if you don't come I'll just go by myself!'"

 

Typical Caraway, hard-headed as ever. He didn't even care that he could have been hurt and now he most likely was injured. She had to do something; she couldn't sit idly by, she was still angry at him but he was her father; she didn't want him hurt.

 

"Are you sure this 'beast' got him?" She asked.

 

"He went into the castle, he's as good as dead!"

 

"That doesn't mean anything, for all we know the castle is empty, and he's perfectly fine," she tried to calm the man, but it wasn't working. "Why don't we go and make sure," She offered.

 

"If you want to go, then be my guest," he said throwing his hands in the air, "but I won't be going back and I won't allow anyone else from town to go there either!" He barked then turned toward town and started running again.

 

"Coward!" She shouted after him, then turned to where the man ran from and started walking.

 

The man said castle, and he wasn't kidding. The structure was an impressive piece of architecture. The large wrought iron gate was held in place by a stone wall that surrounded the castle grounds. Inside the walls, the towers of the castle reached high into the sky with ominous gargoyles staring down at her.

 

Rinoa pushed the gate open, it groaned in protest from years of unused and she was only able to open it just enough to squeeze her slender frame through. Shrubs were growing out of control, and potted flowers were lying dead against the stones of the overgrown walkway. Butterflies started to flutter around in her stomach as she approached the large wooden doors; the closer she got, the butterflies turned to birds that turned to bowling balls.

 

She reached out to grab one of the metal lion's head knockers but stopped short. She took a deep breath before finally knocking.

 

The sound echoed, and the door creaked open slowly.

 

"H-hello?" She said nervously as she ducked her head inside the castle.

 

Empty. Rinoa stepped inside slowly, looking all around. It was sparsely decorated and surprisingly clean.

 

"Daddy?" she called. "Hello?" she called louder.

 

No answer. It was both a relief and upsetting at the same time. While it might have meant that no one was hostile it also meant that her father could be hurt or dead. Or maybe he had left, he might not be close enough to hear either. Anyone that was hostile could be out of earshot as well.

 

She walked up the nearby staircase to the next level and called out, again and again, she got no response. The further she went in the castle, the more nervous she got. It seemed like she wouldn't find her father.

 

Rinoa turned a corner and felt someone grab her from behind and hold her tightly. She tried to scream, but a gloved hand covered her mouth.

 

She was pulled down the hall, she tried to fight, but her captor was stronger, she made it difficult for them. She made sure she to be dragged kicking and screaming until they entered a sitting room where she was tossed onto one of the couches. She scrambled to her feet but was forced into a sitting position.

 

Sitting across from her was an angry looking man with spiky blonde hair and a tribal tattoo on his face. He lounged on the sofa; his hands stretched across the back and his feet, resting on the coffee table.

 

"Who are you?" She asked nervously.

 

"I could ask you the same thing," he retorted.

 

"I asked you first," she snapped.

 

He narrowed his eyes at her, and she did the same to him.

 

"Zell," he conceded.

 

"Rinoa," she replied sharply.

 

"What are you doing here?" He asked.

 

"I'm looking for my father," she answered.

 

"Your father trespassed in my castle," another man's voice echoed.

 

Zell jumped to his feet at the sound: "Master," he murmured.

 

Rinoa turned to see the source. He was tall, chin length chestnut hair, blue eyes, and stoic expression. He stood with his arms crossed leaning against the door frame. He had a long sleeve black V-neck t-shirt on and black cargo pants.

 

"He was just doing his job," she croaked. "He has to survey the entire Winhill province."

 

"This castle may be in the Winhill province, but it's under the control of Esthar. Your father has no right to be here," the brown haired man said.

 

"He didn't know that," she whispered.

 

"He's a prisoner of Esthar," he said flatly.

 

"You have to let him go," Rinoa pleaded.

 

"No," he replied.

 

"Master," Zell interrupted. "What if she takes his place?" He offered.

 

"W-what?" Rinoa asked. "No."

 

"You want him freed so badly, you can take his place," Zell said.

 

"That's not— "

 

"Those are the terms," the master said. "Do you want your father free?"

 

"Yes, but— "

 

"Then you accept the terms," he said quickly. "Take her to one of the guest rooms till I have a use for her," he ordered her captor.

 

"Wait, no!" she yelled as she was taken captive again and dragged down the hall once more.

 


	2. WHAT'S HAPPENING?!

Rinoa collapsed against the door after it shut on her, she couldn’t believe the nerve of him, keeping her in this castle against her will. 

This day was just the worst.  None of this would have even happened if her father hadn’t forced her to move to in the first place.  Not only that, but the one little bright spot she had since arriving was disappearing. Her date with Seifer.

She was about to start crying when she heard a knock on the door.

“Who is it?” she asked trying to keep her voice from cracking.

“Selphie,” a voice answered on the other side.  Rinoa didn’t even know why she bothered to ask it wasn’t like she would know who it was even with an answer.

“Go away,” Rinoa replied, she wanted to be alone.

Selphie ignored the request and barged in with a giant smile on her face.

“Hi!” she said cheerfully.

“Go away!” Rinoa demanded.

“Sorry to just barge in like this, but I wanted to meet you! Zell told me there was another girl in the castle,” Selphie explained while flopping on the oversized bed.

“Another?” Rinoa asked.

“Yeah, for the longest time Quistis and I were the only women working here,” Selphie explained.

“Well, I’m not exactly here by choice,” Rinoa mumbled.

“Oh? Zell just said there was a new person in the castle he didn’t specify that you were a prisoner,” Selphie shrugged. “Oh well, want a tour of the castle?”

“What?” Rinoa gasped.

“Want a tour of the castle?” Selphie repeated.

“You do understand that I’m a prisoner, right?” Rinoa asked.

“Duh,” Selphie laughed, “that doesn’t mean you can’t leave this room!”

“That’s how it works you know,” Rinoa replied, flabbergasted. “Besides, I’d like to be alone if you don’t mind.”

“Suit yourself,” Selphie shrugged pushing herself off the bed. “Some other time then,” she chirped before leaving.

Rinoa jumped up off the floor to lock the door so that no one else would barge in unexpectedly.

“How could this day possibly get any worse?” she mumbled before flopping face down on the bed to cry.

* * *

 

The sound of her footsteps echoed through the halls, each step growing louder as she got closer to him. He let out a sigh when the footsteps stopped; he could feel her judgmental gaze without having to turn from the window to face the blonde woman he knew was there.

“Are you insane, Squall?” she asked.

“I’m going to say no, but I know you’ll find some reason to the contrary,” Squall answered.

“You’ve kidnapped two people in one day!” she scolded.

“I let one of them go, Quistis,” Squall sighed dropping the book he was reading on the table.

“You shouldn’t have kidnapped anyone in the first place!” Quistis reasoned.

“They shouldn’t have trespassed,” Squall said flatly.

“You do realize that the man you kidnapped then let go was General Fury Caraway, don’t you?” Quistis demanded after taking a moment to calm herself.

“Your point?” Squall sighed.

“He was sent here to be the governor of this province by President Deling, and now you have his daughter as a prisoner,” she explained.

“Get to the point, Quistis,” Squall demanded.

“You could start a war between Galbadia and Esthar,” she said, baffled that he didn’t come to that conclusion on his own.

“That sounds like a case of ‘not my problem,'” he shrugged.

“It’s going to be your problem when you father finds out about this,” Quistis threatened.

“What’s the worst he can do? Send me to a town in the middle of nowhere in a different country?” he deadpanned. “No, wait… he did that already.”

“Squall,” she said, scowling while crossing her arms.

“What?” he asked crossing his arms as well.

“Why are you doing this?” she asked.

“I have my reasons,” he answered.

“You need to let her go,” Quistis ordered.

“I’m not going to,” Squall replied.

“Tell me why ” she demanded.

“No,” he sighed.

“Then if you won’t let her go and you won’t tell me why the least you can do is be nice to her,” the blonde ordered.

“No,” he sighed again, sitting back in his chair.

That was the last straw.  Quistis wasn’t having any more of his attitude, she squared her shoulders and stomped over to him, gave him a scowl and grabbed him by the ear.

“Squall Leonhart, you are going to go down to that girl’s room, apologize and invite her to dinner,” Quistis ordered pulling him out of his chair.

“Quistis let me go!” he yelled.

She ignored his pleas and continued to drag him down the hall by his ear.  He struggled against her, but he couldn’t get free. She didn’t let go till they got to the girl’s door, Selphie and Zell were sitting outside with amused looks on their faces.

“Why are you two here?” Quistis demanded.

“We were trying to get her to come to dinner with us, but she locked the door,” Selphie shrugged.

Quistis let go of Squall’s ear and pushed him toward the door.  He cast her a dark look, but she only crossed her arms and gestured for him to knock on the door.  He stood defiantly for a moment before rolling his eyes and turning to knock.

“Come to dinner,” he demanded loudly, not even waiting for her to respond to his knock.

“No!” she yelled in response.

Squall gestured to the door silently asking Quistis if she was satisfied.

Quistis rolled her eyes and let out and exasperated sighed; “ask nicely,” she ordered.

Squall grumbled and knocked on the door again and like before he didn’t wait for her to respond before speaking.

“It would give me great pleasure,” he fought against his frustration momentarily before continuing, “if you would join me for dinner,” he mumbled.

“No, thank you,” she yelled back in a mocking tone.

“Fine, then you can just stay in there and starve!” he yelled before storming off back to his room.

“well that was intense,” Zell laughed after a moment.

Quistis glared at him before following Squall down the hallway leaving the two of them giggling like children.

 

* * *

 

Rinoa listened at the door until it was completely silent when it was she cracked the door to peek out.  The hall was empty, she pulled to door open more and stuck her head out to listen.  Still silent. It was safe for her to leave the room, for the time being at least.

She crept slowly through the dark halls trying not to make a sound.  When the giant staircase was in sight she smiled, and picked up her pace; the front door wasn’t much farther now.

When her foot hit the top step, she heard voices. She couldn’t tell which direction the were coming from so she darted down the stairs as fast as possible.  When she made it to the bottom, she ran full force into someone.

“In a hurry?” he didn’t sound happy.

She looked up into the angry face of the man everyone called master.

She cast a scowl and bit the inside of her cheek.  She refused to answer him and turned to walk toward the door.

“Where do you think you’re going?” he yelled after her.

Rinoa kept walking; she didn’t care what he might do she only knew she had to get out. 

“Rinny Rin!” Selphie nervously laughed as she grabbed Rinoa’s arm.

She appeared almost out of nowhere and spun Rinoa around to head back towards the angry castle master.

“Sorry master, I was giving her a tour, and she got lost,” Selphie giggled.

He glared at Rinoa briefly before rolling his eyes and headed up the stairs.

“Let me go,” Rinoa protested shaking Selphie off her arm.

“I know you want to go home, but you are still our prisoner,” Selphie said calmly.

“Why? Why am I a prisoner? What good could come from this?” Rinoa yelled.

“It’s complicated,” Selphie shrugged.

“Try me,” Rinoa hissed.

Before Selphie could begin to explain she heard Rinoa’s stomach growl in protest, she giggled and said; “let’s get you something to eat first.”

Rinoa thought about making a stand until she explained, but her stomach won the internal argument, so she nodded begrudgingly.

Selphie led the way to the kitchen skipping the whole way, Rinoa practically had to run to keep up with her.

“Eat whatever you want!” Selphie yelled as she whipped the pantry doors open.

“Aren’t you worried about making the ‘master’ angry?” Rinoa sneered.

“Ha! Not in the slightest,” Selphie laughed.

“Then why wouldn’t you let me leave?” Rinoa pleaded.

“Because if you leave now, it’ll cause an international incident,” Selphie explained sympathetically.

“That makes no sense,” Rinoa yelled.

“You’re just going to have to trust me when I tell you that Squall knows what he’s doing.”

Rinoa glared at Selphie for a moment then rolled her eyes, let out an exaggerated sigh and choose something to eat.

 

* * *

 

“Squall,” Quistis softly called as she entered the room.

He didn’t answer, just sat in his chair staring out the window.

“Squall,” she called again louder.

“What?” he sighed.

“Please tell me you have a plan for how to deal with this?” she pleaded. “I’d feel a lot better about her staying her if I knew you had a plan.”

He turned to look her in the eye and said; “not in the slightest.”


	3. I TAUNT YOU!

Night was falling and Seifer was already late for his date with Rinoa.  He ran as fast as he could to the mansion, praying to Hyne that she was still willing to go out with him.  When he arrived, there was a crowd gathered once again, but this time it wasn’t so cheerful.

“What’s going on?” he asked a man in the crowd.

“The general was taken captive earlier by the beast in the castle!” the man answered.

“Oh please, that’s just a stupid fairy tale the old people told us to keep us from going there! There isn’t any beast,” Seifer scoffed.

“Believe what you want but the general says the beast is real!” the man defended.

“If the beast is real then why would he let the general go? Wouldn’t he want to eat him or something?”

Seifer was beyond skeptical.  The idea that a monster had enough intelligence to take up residence in a castle and only feed on people that came exploring was preposterous. Not to mention that if there was a beast that had that kind of intelligence it would be smart enough to not let its food escape.

“The general’s daughter took his place,” the man explained.

Seifer felt the color leave his cheeks.

“She what?”

“The Mayor said she went to the castle after her father and only the general came back.”

“We have to save her!” Seifer insisted.

“She could already be dead! That was hours ago,” the man said grimly.

“We have to at least try!”

Seifer pushed his way through the dense crowd till he reached the general.

“We have to save Rinoa!” Seifer ordered.

“No one is to go near that castle,” Caraway retorted.

“But she’s your daughter!” Seifer yelled.

“And she made her choice,” the general’s cold demeanor made Seifer’s blood boil.

“To save you!”

“That was her choice, I didn’t ask her to come save me.”

Seifer’s hand balled into a tight fist, and his body started shaking.  What he wouldn’t give to throw one good punch at the general.  He had the perfect opportunity, so what was stopping him?  He thought for a moment and decided to just go with his gut.

The general turned his head slightly to speak with someone else, it was the perfect moment, Seifer pulled his arm back and contacted the general’s face.  He’d put everything he had into that punch and it was enough to send the general flying over his arm chair.

Seifer had another punch in him but his arms were restrained and he was being pulled back through the crowd and just like that, he was outside, on his back, in the dirt.

“If you cowards won’t save her, then I will!” he yelled as he got to his feet.

“What happened Seifer?” Raijin asked coming to Seifer’s aid.

“The general is a coward,” Seifer spit.

“EXPLAIN,” Fujin demanded.

“Rinoa’s been kidnapped and no one will save her,” Seifer grimaced. “So, we’re going to that castle tonight and we're gonna get her back!”

Seifer pushed through the two of them to change into his monster hunting clothes and retrieve his Hyperion.  No one else in town wanted to be a hero, so the burden was on him.

 

* * *

 

“Is he always such a dick?!” Rinoa shrieked when Selphie pushed her into the dining room.

“Well, he… uhh,” Selphie struggled to find anything to defend Squall with. “You just have to get to know him!” she smiled.

“I don’t want to get to know him! I just want to go home!” Rinoa couldn’t hold back the tears that had been threatening to spill over for some time now.

Selphie’s face went from cheerful smiles to nothing but pity.  Rinoa hated being pitied. Sure, people would claim to mean well but deep down she knew they were usually just happy that it wasn’t happening to them.

She’d seen enough of it when her mother died.  “I’m sorry for your loss” was nothing but code for “better you than me.”

Selphie was one of her captors and Rinoa would not be pitied by someone who was holding her against her will.

“I’m sorry,” Selphie whispered.

“No, you’re not!” Rinoa shrieked.

Selphie reached out to hug Rinoa but Rinoa would have none of it.  She pushed Selphie away and darted out of the dining room.  The door hit someone, but Rinoa didn’t linger to find out who it was, she ran as fast as she could out the door and into the night.

“She’s just like us,” Selphie whispered.

“Yeah,” Squall replied, rubbing the spot on his forehead where the door hit him.

“What are we gonna do, Squall?” she whimpered, “We’ll be stuck here forever if you don’t come up with something soon.”

“I have an idea,” Squall smiled. “Tell Quistis to invite Laguna and the other delegates to a masquerade ball.”

MASQUERADE?!” Selphie shrieked.

“You’re in charge of planning it,” Squall ordered.

‘I WON’T LET YOU DOWN, MASTER!” Selphie jumped with excitement.

“I’m sure you won’t,” Squall chuckled as he headed for the front door.

“Where are you going?” Selphie asked.

“Do you think she’d be able to survive out there in the middle of the night?” Squall asked.

* * *

 

The woods were thicker than she remembered, on the way to the castle.  Thorns tugged at her clothes and scratched her skin. She could barely see two feet in front of her and uneven rocks were throwing her off balance.

In hind sight, she should have waited until morning to make her escape, but she couldn’t stay there one second more. Not with Selphie’s unrelenting cheerfulness, or Squall’s insufferable meanie meanness.

She looked around for something that looked familiar but all she saw was thorns.

Somehow, she’d gone the wrong way.  She was lost and didn’t have the slightest clue how to fix it.  The only thing she could think to do was keep moving forward.

She pushed through the thicket and found herself in a small meadow. She breathed a sigh of relief at being out of the thorns but the relief was short lived.  After her first step into the meadow she heard something crunch under her foot, she looked down and saw what looked like a human bone. 

Somehow, she stumbled into a monster’s nest.

She slowly made her way to the woods as quietly as she could but she soon heard the heavy tread of a large monster followed by the low growl letting her know that it knew she was there.  Her heart was pounding so hard it jumped into her throat.  Her entire body shook with fear as she froze in place when the beast came into view.

The Grendel was nearly as tall as she was and twice as wide.  Its long forelegs flexed as it got into a pouncing position. Rinoa was still frozen with fear, her mind went blank, all she could focus on was the monster’s large fangs preparing to rip her throat out.

The beast let out a roar as it leaped towards her, she closed her eyes and screamed as she crouched down to the ground, hoping the monster would miss.

Just then, she heard a pained howl from the monster and a loud thud. She turned to see the monster on its back more than ten feet away, dead, with a large slash in its neck.

Someone save her.  She looked around and saw Squall standing beside her, sword drawn and blood splattered on his face.

“You saved me?” she whispered before falling over, unconscious.

* * *

 

 “Seifer, are you sure we should be doing this?” Raijin asked, trying to hide the fear in his voice.

“You’re welcome to turn back, but I’m not stopping till I save her,” Seifer barked.

“DANGER,” Fujin barked.

“If the two of you are too chicken to continue then just go back to town! I’ll do it on my own!” Seifer ordered running off as fast as he could.

It wasn’t long before he’d reached the castle, he had to stop just short of the gate to catch his breath and steady his nerves.

He’d seen the castle from a distance many times before, but up close and at night, it was more menacing than he expected.  That wouldn’t stop him though.  He would save Rinoa even if it cost him his life.

“Rinoa!” he called as he walked through the gate.

“WHO GOES THERE?!” a deep bellowing voice responded back.

“Seifer Almasy, monster hunter of Winhill!” He answered with a cocky tone. “I’m here for Rinoa!”

“SHE’S NOT HERE!” The voice yelled. “GO AWAY!”

“I know she’s here, hand her over or I’ll take her by force!” Seifer demanded.

“YOU AND WHAT ARMY, HOTSHOT?” The voice taunted.

“I’m a one-man army!” Seifer answered.

“YOU DON’T FRIGHTEN ME! I BLOW MY NOSE AT YOU LITTLE ‘MONSTER HUNTER!’”

Just then he heard a loud raspberry being blown and it made his blood boil.  This monster wasn’t taking him seriously.

“Give me Rinoa or so help me, you’ll regret it!” he yelled.

“I DON’T WANNA TALK TO YOU NO MORE YOU, EMPTY HEADED, ANIMAL FOOD TROUGH WATER! I FART IN YOUR GENERAL DIRECTION! YOUR MOTHER WAS A HAMSTER AND YOUR FATHER SMELT OF ELDERBERRIES!”

Seifer had enough of this stupid monster, he headed for the door and attempted to open it, but it would budge.  He tried breaking a with a rock but it just bounced off without so much as a ding.  His last resort was to attack with his Hyperion but he was thrown backward.  The monster cast protect on the castle.

“LET ME IN!” he yelled, his face red from anger.

“NO! NOW, GO AWAY OR I SHALL TAUNT YOU A SECOND TIME!”

Seifer lost it. He charged at the door, repeatedly striking the barrier hoping he could break through and at least kill the monster taunting him, even if Rinoa wasn’t there.

He tired himself out quickly but he prepared himself for one final blow, just then a huge rock camp tumbling down from the roof of the castle nearly hitting him.

“Is that all you got!” he laughed. But his gloating didn’t last as the rock exploded, pelting him with the shrapnel.

He couldn’t fight like this, he was too tired from attacking the barrier and now he was injured.  He had no choice but to retreat for now.

“This isn’t over!” he yelled as he headed for the gate.

* * *

 

Rinoa woke to sunlight shining in her face and a splitting headache.  She barely remembered what happened the night before but what she did remember made her jump up quickly to check her surroundings.

She was back in her room in the castle.  So, Squall saving her life wasn’t a dream.

“You’re finally awake,” Squall yawned. “I was beginning to wonder if you were alive.”

“Why did you save me?” she asked.  Not that she wasn’t grateful, it just made no sense.

“Because I need your help,” he answered.

“My help? With what?” she scoffed.

“I want to go home too,” he confessed. “I can’t do that without your help.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is all thanks to a nice review I got on another story! Proof that reviews go a long way.

**Author's Note:**

> Feedback is appreciated!


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